Process applicable to starch manufacture



" Jan. 9, 1940. A, PEL-ER ET AL 2,186,037

PROCESS APPLICABLEA TO STARCH MAUFACTURE4 ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 9, i940 .PROCESS APPLIcllLia 'ro s'rARcH MANUFACTURE 1 Albert Peltzer and Albertrleltzer, Jr., P\a lo Alto,

Calif.,v assignors to Mexico,Centrifugal Separator Co. Ltd., SanFx-ancisco, Calif., a coi'- poration of California Application Fe'buaygo, 1935, serial-Nafura s claims.: (cil 1274s,)

, Ihe invention relates generallyv to the art of" effecting separating operationsupon feedmatefVV f ils containing solid'components, and applies iii re' particularly'towet Vstarchjprocesses/where-2 a separation is effected between `starch and gunnen.y v

In'general,

it is an objectief the inventionfto provide a. novel method or process for effecting vremoval of asolid component, such as gluten, from starch-bearing substances or like feed materials, by the use of a minimum amountof water or carrier liquid.

More specifically as appliedk to the manufacture of starch, it is an object of the invention'to make possible delivery of thickened gluten directly from the step of eiectingprimary separation between starch and gluten. The starch system disclosed herein is characterized by the fact that conventional gluten settlers or thi'ckeners are omitted, which is made possible `by then high rating operation. Y

'Further objects of the invention as applied to the manufacture of starch, are, to 'avoid the Vnecessity of utilizing or disposing of gluten settler water, to minimize bacteriological action and resultant fouling, to effect a saving in the amount I of fresh water employed, to avoid the necessity of evaporating excessive amounts of water, and to facilitate production of a starch of high `qual- 3 ity and purity.

from the following description in which the pre-- ferred embodiment of Vthe invention has been set forth in detail in conjunction with the accom# panyingdrawings. Y

The invention disclosed herein may be deemed anA improvement of subject-matter disclosedand claimed in co-pendlng application Serial No. 731,415, filed June 20, V1934:. Likewise, certain 49 subject-matter disclosed -but not claimed herein has been disclosed andv claimed in co-pending,

application Serial No.` 743,528, filed September 11, 1934,'and Serial No. 743,529, led'September 11,1934. ReferringV to the drawings;V Fig. 1 is a flow sheet indicating a process ,for the manufacture of corn starch, 'utilizing'y the present invention. l

Fig. 2 is a simplified'flow sheet showing lcertain steps incorporated in the process of, Fig. v1. Fig. 3 is a ow sheet indicating a modified process for the manufacture of corn starch, utilining the present invention. The complete process for the manufacture of gravity gluten obtained from the primary sepa- Further objects of the invention will appearV 'starch from Indian :com and like' starcriftermg t "materials, represented'by Fig. l, canhest he d -V scribed `after Aa des ription of the stepsrepresented by'Fig. 2.V It will be presumed that mill4 starch is being treated, such as is commonly profY 5 duced in wet starch manufacturing processes,

and which is generally subjected to tabling oper ations for'separation of Starch from gluten'. Y In such a feed material the starch and the gluten` aresolid compo ents of diiier'ent classifyingY char- '10 \`a1cteristics,j susgended ii-n water asa rcarrier liqid, land the p -esence of starchV facilitates filtrato thev centrifuge II..

ion.y f

rI wo principal pieces of .equipment'are indie ,cated in Fig. 2, namely, `a lter IIl anda centri- 15 ,'fuge Il; Q'Ilhe filter is preferably one of .the conh I' tinuous type, Vcapable of operation upon mill starch, to continuously'/ produce a .dewatered cake. The centrifuge is v.likewise Y starch-gluten Apreferably capable of continuous operation, with 20 characteristics vsuch yas will enabler a relatively sharp separationbetween starch andy gluten. A centrifuge ofthe .type disclosed in United States Letters Patent `bld-1,923,454 and No. 11,945,786,A ind..

which `there is continuous flushing out of heavierz-5 Vsolids from -the"rotor, has 4been found-desirable.

. Line I2 represents aisupply of' mill st archztd.

the filter IIL The dewatered filter cake resulting from the filtering operation .is subjected yto re.

pulping, as indicated at I3, to Vform thevfeed I Il vBy virtue of vseparation` 30 effected in; the centrifuge, gluten passes ,out '1 mainly inthe overflow l-,whileseparated starch passes out in the underflow I8. In accordance with the' disclosures of the' 'aforesaidA patents, a 35 part of the underflow I8 islshowni being continuously returned to the centrifuge rotor, as indicated at I9, and inl addition, thereto .the return Vcircuit is shown' .being supplied. with wash water2l. f g In or'der to effect removal of the .gluten overflow `I6`at`- a relatively highgrfavity, the lter Ill is utilized toY effect dewateringof apart or the. gluten overflow, at the same time that`4 it -is de watering the mill starch 12,-. vand in addition thereto another' part of the Vglutenoverfiow is 45 utilized as a vliquid :medium: for the;V repulping operation I3. Thus, line 2| represents diversion f of a part of the glutenoverow for introductiony 2 `alsace? l operation I3, is repulped to form a feed of sufficient uidity for introductioninto the centrifuge II. Because of the amount of water removed as filtrate fromthe filter I0 (that is, from both the mill starch and the return gluten overflow), and because of the use of gluten overflow to supply water for the repulping operation I3, the gluten overflow is caused to be of relatively high gravity, so that if desired it can be further dewatered without the necessity of utilizing conventional gravity gluten settlers. .Return of gluten overflow to the filter I0 increases,theload upon this piece of equipment, to an extent corresponding to the amount of gluten overflow returned, but does not seriously interfere with the filtering operation, due to the relatively 'large proportion of starch lparticles inthe mill starch stream. Likewise, return of gluten overflow both to theilter yII) and for the repulping operation I3, does not appear to seriously interfere with proper separation between sta'rh andgluten. in

the centrifuge II. Theoretically it is possible to divert such an amount of gluten overflow to the Vhead vof lter I6 that the overflow would be toothick for proper discharge. This can rbe taken into account to make possible more efficient centrifugal separation, without sacrificing thickening of the overflow to the utmost practical degree. Thus, the rate of introduction of wash water 2I can be ado justed to such a value that a substantial part of this wash, in addition tothat part which carries out solids inthe underow I8, flows countercurrentlythrough the zone of separation to bedischarged with the .overflow I6. Dilution of A.the overflow beyond the vgravity limits desired is then offset by increasing the amount of overflow returned to the filter Ill. Such a countercurrent or vup-ow of wash affords better separation by displacement, vand when carried out in the manner .described there .is in effect no accompanying loww erlng in gravity of the underflow, such as would ordinarily'result.

The complete wet starch .manufacturing process-of Fig. 1 can now be described as follows:- Suitable starch-bearing material, such as Indian Corn, is treated in the steeps 3|, and the steeped material is then supplied to the milling system 32. This milling system may conform to conventional practice, .except that, for reasons to be presently explained, silk reels from the germsystem, and also silk screens from the slop system, may be omitted. Line I2 (corresponding to line I2 ofFig. 2) Yrepresents removal of germs and slop. Assuming the omission of silk from the milling system as previously mentioned, the mill starch u. stream contains some grits which lwould other- -wise have been removed by silk in the germ sys'- tem, and also contains-fine fiber which in conventional practice would be removed by silk in a .w fine slop system.

The filtrate 26 from the filter I0 may be utillzed in preceding operations, as v.for example in the steeps and in the milling system, as indicated. As disclosed in co-pending application Serial No.

u 743.528, the centrifuge I I serves not only to effect .a rseparation between starch and gluten, but also to effect a classification of fine slop from the mill starch stream. Thus, slop of a fllamentary nature, and also slimes which may be present, pass out in the gluten -overflow I6, while the remainder of theslop, together with grits from the mill starch stream, passes out in the starch underow To provide proper treatment following primary separation in centrifuge II, the underflow I6 is shown being subjected to silk screening 36, with the tailings from this screening operation being subjected to grinding, as indicated at 31, and again subjectedto silk screening at 39. The

starch passing through the silk screens is shown i being merged to form a starch feed 4I for a second centrifuge 42; The centrifuge 42 may be similar to centrifuge II, and the overflow 43 from Ythe same, .which is relatively clear compared with the overflow I6 from centrifuge II, may be used in part as a wash in the milling system 32, and

.in part as a wash for the silk screening operations 36 and 39,.asindicated by branch lines 44 and 46.

The starch underflow ,4l from the centrifuge 42 is shown being further subjected to purification by washing, in a .suitable starch filter system 46. The dry side filtrate 49 kfrom the lter system 46 is shown being `utilized as a wash liquor in centrifuge 42, while the wet side filtrate is shown forming the wash liquor 2l `for the centrifugal I.

As has been previously pointed out, the gluten overflow I6 from centrifuge II is thickened to such 4anextent that it may be delievered directly to a .filter 5I or like dewatering means, without the use of conventional gluten settlers; Water removed lfrom the gluten overflow I6 in the de- `wateringmeans 5I can be returned to preceding operations, as forexample to the milling system 32, as indicated by line 52. Tailings from the silk screening operation 39, which include the fineV slop removed by silk screening after primary vseparation between starch-and gluten in the cen-` trifuge II., may be delivered to a slop expeller or like means, asindlcated byline 53.

Operation of the process of Fig. l canbe briefly reviewed as followsz-The mill starch stream from the millingisystem 32'is subjected to continuous filtrationl at I0, together with a part of the gluten overflow which is continuously diverted from the centrifuge II. Filter cake from this filtering operation is continuously repulped with a part of the gluten overflow, and is then supplied as a feed to the centrifuge II. Slop remaining in the starch underflow I8 is removed inthe screening operations 36 and 39, and grits tailing off from the screening operation 36 are ground, so that a considerable part of the starch from the same passes through the silk in the screening operation 39. `The screened starch is subjected to further centrifugal treatment in the Vcentrifuge 42, and the starch underflow 41 from the same is then subjected to further purlficatio'n in the filter system 46. The thickened gluten overflow I6 from centrifuge II is shown being delivered to the dewatering means 5I, without the use of gluten settlers, for the recovery of gluten cake. With such a process, water in the steeping operation 3l can be reduced lto a substantial degree compared with conventional pactice, thus reducing water withdrawn to the evaporating pans. The water requirements for the milling system 32 are likewise materially reduced over conventional practice, due vto the omission of silk screening, thereby enabling production of a relatively high gravity mill starch stream.

.-, .ti velyffre e ofprotein ,soy that treatmentmin the starchiilteringlfsystem .is .simplified and afhigher g vqualitystarcli ycalr'i'fbe prducedfby the process as a whole. .From what ,has `been"explained it'1v 'i cation Serial' No. 743,528, silk'screening upon 'the underiiow I8 after centrifugal treatment'is materially simplified as compared with conventional. e

5 silk screeningin thernilling system. vbefore ta- 4necessarily followsI4 that fuse-.of A,clarified over-A bling, because of theiabsence of iilamentaryma'- flow from the lsecond 'centrifuge as wash gforthefterial vto disrupt or clog the silkfscreens' orfreels, firstcentrifuge il, also-makes it'po'sfsible for the` and because of the-corresponding lessened lreaction of this .centrifuge vto more' eifectivelybloclrj A -quirementsfor wash liquor. Therapid thicken.- s0lublesfroni the .subgeguegpert ufethepmsm sa l0 ing `.of gluten, as comparedl tofthe longsettling. y to thereby .facilitate silk j s'cr'eehingy and' subseL'lO-fperiods required for conventional :gluten-thick.- quent,treati'nent.A 1' eners,'minimizes bacteriologicalactionan'd.foul y e We claim: "j ..1 ing of the System, j; '1. 111iy ...e-wet starchmanufacturingw f5 To cite an example of results which can be'ob- .gwhere -corn or flike starch-beaf'ri'rig' material lis-f tained by the usev of the present process, .thev subjected to steepinglandfmilling foperatiorisv4 ifo-wf overflow from centrlfugeil may contain from `produce a mill starch .containing starch ja rii:l l'g`l\ 1"- 1. 1 15 to 20 ounces of gluten per gallon, as compared l ten,'thevimprovementconsisting in subjectingthej" with 2 tok 3 ounces per gallon in the tailings from .mill starch to a dewatering operation,` pulping:fthe v' light gravity tabling, and 4 .to 5 ounces pergaldewatered material with a 'liquid medium, subl 9 lon from so-called heavy gravity tabling. Such jecting the pulpedmateri'al to a separating opo a thickened gluten overflow can immediately be eration whereby gluten is removed in an overflow filtered, without interposing the step of effecting andstarch in an underliowyandbending a part further thickening by gravity settling. of the glutenoverfiow with the mill starch, wheren 'I'he process represented by Fig. 3 makes possiby said 'dewateringoperation serves simultaneble better. water balance with further water ously to dewater the mill starch-and alsoto deu economy. This process is characterizedv by the water that part of the gluten overflow blended use of a concentrator or like means for clarifywith-the same. ing the overfiow from the second centrifuge r42,- 2. In a wet starch manufacturing process, and also by the fact thata substantial portion .where corn or like starch-bearing material is of the overflow from the second centrifuge is subjected to steeping .and .milling operations to n utilized as washinthefirst centrifuge Il. Thus, produce a mill starch containing starch and the overflow 43 from centrifuge 42vis shown being gluten, the improvement comprising subjecting delivered to a concentrator 56, which maybe 0f the mill starch toadewatering operation, ypulpthe gravity type. The clarified overiiow .51.from ing the-dewatered material with a liquidmedium,

s this concentrator is shown being'l used as ya wash .subjecting the pulped material to a separating 's unen Screens 36 and 39. Withthe starcha'nd liqoperation whereby'gluten-is'removed in anoveruid passing through the Screen 39 forming the flow and vstarch in an underflow, and maintainwash 58. for centrifuge lTlie underflow 59 ing the gluten overflow in a'thickened condition from the concentrator 56, which contains .the vby blending the mill Search being suppiiedrto Said 4U maior part of the gluten from Overflow 43, is dewatering operationvwitnfa .part of the gluten M shown being returned t0 the lter i0. Where it overflow, and by utilizingl another part ofthe can serve as a dry side wash or may be blended gluten overnew as .seid liquidmedlum with the mill starch stream. 3. In a Wet starch .manufacturing process,

As representative of the starch filtering sYS- where corn or like'starch-bearing material is subtem corresponding t0 the System 48 0f Fig. 1, jected to steeping and milling operations to pro y45 two starch filters 48a and 4Gb are shown. Starch duce a mill starch containing starch and gluten, il removed from filter 48a is'repulped es indithe improvement consisting in subjecting the mill cated at 62 and delivered to the second lter 'starehrto a, dewatering operation, subjecting the 48h. Line 63 indicates use ofdry side filtrate dewatered materia] te centrifugal Separation 50 from filter 48h, for the repulping Operation 52 whereby gluten is removed in an overflow and 50 Line 64 indicates use of Wet Side-mirate from starch in an underflow, continually blending the mter 48h, as a wash for centrifuge 42- ThiS- mill starch withapartof the gluten overflow, and wash can be supplemented by filtrate from filter continually mixing another part of the nuten 48a, as indicated by line 66. Fresh wash water overflow with thedeweteredmaterm fersupplyis introduced into -bcth of the starch filters, and ing the laspmentioned centrifugal separating 55 the washed starch is removed from the filter yoperation Y 4gb. 4. In a method of treating liquid feed materials With the DrOCeSS .lust desribed,v a better Water containing lighter and heavier solid components, balance C311 be maintained, and the Water for the steps of effecting removal ofcarrier liquidy the Steepng Opel'filion Can be reduced t0 a minfrom the feed material to form substantially a 0" mum consistent with proper steeping action. 'No eaked mass, pulping the eaked mass with a liquid detrimental bacteriological action occurs yby virmediumy subjecting the pulped materiel te een tue of the concentrator 56, Since the Period 0f trii'ugal separation .whereby lighter components treatment required to effect proper clarification are removed in an overflow and heavier compeis relatively shortcompared with-treatment of fuente are removed in an underew, introducing 65 table tailings in conventional gravity settlers, e, part 0f said overow'beek te said m51; step this being due t0 the fact that the OVelOW 43 whereby carrier liquid is removed from the same has a low concentration of solids and iS readily simultaneously with removal of carrier liquid from amenable to clarification. The use oi' clarified the feed material, and utilizing another part of 7G overflow from the second centrifuge as wash said everow as said liquid pulping medium 70 water in the first centrifuge makes possible more 5. In a wet starch manufacturing process, where efficient centrifugal separation, with the recorn or like starch-bearing material is subjected moval of an underow'containing a lower perto steeping and milling operations to produce a centage of protein. Consequently, the starch mill starch containing starch'and gluten, the imunderflow from the second centrifuge 42 is rela# provement consisting in subjecting the mill starch 70 to a dewatering operation, subjecting the dewatered material to centrifugal separation whereby gluten is removed in an overow and starch in an underflow, continually mixing a part oi the gluten overilow with the dewatered material for supplying `the last-mentioned centrifugal separating operation, supplying wash liquorV to the centrifugal separating operation at such a rate that a part of said wash is delivered in the glutenV overilow, and avoiding dilution of said overiiow by returning another part of the same back to the dewatering operation.

6. Ina wet starch manufacturing process, where corn or like starch bearing material is sub jected to steeping and milling operations to proy duce a mill starch containing starch and gluten, the improvement comprising subjecting the mill starch to a illtering operation to form a lter cake, pulping the filter cake with a liquid-medium, subjecting the pulped material to a centrifugal separating operation whereby gluten is removed in an overflow and starch in an underow, and maintaining the gluten overflow ina thickened condition by blending the mill starch being supplied -to said dewatering operation with a part of the gluten overilow, and `byrutilizing another part of the gluten overow assaid liquid medium, the percentage of gluten solids maintained in the gluten overiiow being many times greater than the percentage of gluten solids contained in gluten tailings from conventional light gravity tabling of mill starch. A

Y Y ALBERT PELTZER..

ALBERT PELTZERQ Ja. 

